A. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a method of making a knit apparel, and more particular to apparel such as socks that are knitted to give them a tie dyed appearance. The invention also covers the apparel resulting from the method.
B. Description of the Prior Art
Tie-dying is a well known technique for decorating various types of apparels. This technique consists of taking a fabric apparel, folding it into a pattern, binding the folded fabric and then applying to it one or more dyes. The apparel is then unbound, rinsed and the dye is set.
The apparel can be made of a woven, non-woven or knit material and it is originally either white or has some other uniform, neutral color. During the process different portions of the fabric are dipped into a dye, and the dye then spreads or bleeds through the fabric forming bands in somewhat random patterns characteristic of this technique.
A problem with this known technique is that over time the dyed fabric loses starts fading and the colors and patterns lose their vibrancy.
Another problem is that it is normally performed by hand and it is difficult to duplicate it on automated machinery
Moreover, typically fabrics used for tie dyed apparels are usually made of very thin woven fabrics which are not suitable for certain kinds of apparels because they are not warm and do not stretch enough. For example, certain apparels, such as socks are made of knit rather than woven materials. However it is well known in the art that knit materials are not suitable for tie dying.